Northern California native brings casual touch to SoCal gastropub
Introducing chef Charlie Parker of Freddy Smalls
Charlie Parker might have worked in some of the best kitchens up in Northern California (consider such places as Manresa, Ubuntu, and Plum), but he brings a decidedly casual affair to the rather sleepy area of West Los Angeles along Pico Boulevard. With David Fleisher (formerly of Seven Grand) taking care of cocktails and front-of-house, they’re pushing the gastropub envelope at Freddy Smalls, the brainchild of The Counter Burger owner Jeff Weinstein.
Jeremy Fox, Parker’s mentor, consulted early on with the menu but Parker is applying the neighborhood aesthetic of Oakland’s Plum restaurant, with a few simple, well-made pub favorites (that eschew the same-old burger/pizza/hot dog variants) in favor of market-fresh vegetables, house-made charcuterie, and dishes like the crispy pig ear open-faced sandwich. Amid the start of dinner service, we sat down with Parker and Fleisher to hear about their start in the restaurant industry. Read More
Klatch Coffee’s Mike Perry on winning awards, and expanding to LAX in June
Meet the Willy Wonka of coffee
Upland, CA based micro coffee roaster company, Klatch Coffee, opened in 1993, is no stranger to winning awards. Having already won some of the highest honors in the coffee industry like “Best Espresso in the World” at the 2007 World Barista Championships in Tokyo, to San Dimas “Businessman of the Year”. Owner, Mike Perry, can now add another one to his long list of accolades. Just a few weeks ago in San Francisco, Klatch Coffee took home a Good Food Award (an award for “recipients who push their industries towards craftsmanship and sustainability while enhancing our agricultural landscape and building strong communities“) for their Ethiopian Gedeo Worka. Read More
Golden Road Brewing in Atwater Village had their grand opening party last Sunday. To celebrate, they tapped seven new beers: Burning Bush IPA, Either Side of the Hill American strong ale, El Hefe Anejo – a tequila barrel-aged Hefeweizen, Festivus Cinnamon Bitter, Get Up Offa That Brown, Lost its Way IPA, and Rye on the Palate. Those delicious glasses of malty goodness will be joining the three taps already up – Golden Road Hefeweizen, Point the Way IPA and Schwartz Stout. Read More
A lesson in Belgian beers with Little Bear’s Ryan Sweeney
5 things you didn't know about Belgium's brews
It’s been a goal for Ryan Sweeney to open up a Belgian beer bar since he first visited the country years back. Last Friday, Little Bear opened its doors in downtown Los Angeles. A concept created by the Oinkster and Maximiliano’s Andre Guerrero (pictured left) and Verdugo Bar and Surly Goat’s Ryan Sweeney (pictured right) showcasing Belgian food and beers. After spending an afternoon with Ryan as he finalized the logistics of opening night, we learned a few facts about Belgian beers and its culture. Read More
Coming February 15, Handsome Coffee Roasters will open their flagship coffee bar in the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles. 2010 World Barista Champion Michael Phillips is joined by coffee pros Tyler Wells and Chris Owens as co-founders. Michael is the only American to ever win the title. Read More
Golden Road Brewing officially launches pub with extended hours of operation
It's all coming together
Golden Road Brewing has had three goals since they opened, produce as much beer as possible, get the canning line up and running, and open up a pub. Well folks, the pub is here (since mid-December with limited hours and abbreviated menu) and the cans are right around the corner. The Pub will be featuring food items created by Chef Adam Levoe with 20 planned taps in the future (five taps to start). See examples of the menu and plans for the taps. Read More
Los Angeles happy hour round up: Hollywood, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills
Taste Terminal's Happy Hour Round Up
Got the Monday blues? Been a long week? Been a long day? Heck, been a long hour? We all need happy hour sometimes (if not all the time), so here is Taste Terminal’s Happy Hour Round Up from Hollywood to Santa Monica! Read More
Aaron Barkenhagen, founder of Bootlegger’s Brewery in Fullerton, CA is one of those rare cases where school and real-life actually correlated. We sent Jace Milstead, ever excited over Mint Chocolate Porter, to Bootlegger’s to talk beer, books, business, and the point where they all meet. Read More
Enegren Brewing Company: the definition of American nanobrewery
Inside look at three under 30 year-olds' path to commercial brewing
These boys do more than just throw their hands up in the air. Enegren Brewing Company based in Moorpark, CA is a nanobrewery created by three guys, all under the age of 30: brothers Chris Enegren, Matthew Enegren (pictured on the left) and friend Joe Nascenzi (pictured on the right). In fact, they are so small that they were able to brew a batch of beer with hops they grew in a communal garden in Santa Monica. We got together with little brother Matthew Enegren during brew day to discuss how they got started, high tech brewing and their day jobs. Read More
Noble Ale Works: a nobler experiment now brewing in Anaheim
A look at building the brewery from scratch with co-founder Jerry Kolbly
Starting out by contracting the Dale Bros. facility in Upland, CA and brewing every two weeks, Noble Ale Works finally has their own facility. And in a way, while it might not be their intent, the microbrewery’s strict focus on quality is giving a twist on the idea of the Noble Experiment. We sent our host Jace Milstead down to their brewery in Anaheim, CA to discuss all that is beer with co-founder Jerry Kolbly. Read More
LAB Brewing Company: inside look at Agoura Hills’ newest gastropub
Plus a video interview with brewmaster Roger Bott and a lesson on the importance of yeast
Just a mile east of Ladyface Ale Companie in Agoura Hills, CA sits the newly opened LAB Brewing Company, lead by brewmaster Roger Bott and Executive Chef Moez Megji. Our host Jace Milstead sat down with Roger to chat about his brewing days abroad, the role of yeast and transitioning from home to commercial brewing. Read More
Proprietors LLC debuts ‘Chapter and Verse,’ a test bar in their office
A look into cocktail & hospitality experts David Kaplan and Alex Day + video with Alex
Just to be clear, this isn’t going to be the next L.A. hotspot to have a drink at. It’s a bar that Proprietors LLC partners David Kaplan and Alex Day (pictured above) opened in their office. Why would anyone want to open an awesomesauce factory like this? First you have to know the men behind the bar. Read More
Artisanal coffee in Chino Hills‘ Dripp is a quality and craft focused boutique coffee shop opening today. We got an early tasting, had a chat with the founder, Rabih Sater, and a video of our man Jamil at work. Read More
Brew day with Ladyface Ale’s Cyrena Nouzille and David Griffiths
Discussing women in craft beer and a video of brew day
Ladyface Alehouse & Brasserie sits at the bottom of the Ladyface Mountain in Agoura Hills, CA about 35 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Co-owner Cyrena Nouzille and brewmaster Dave Griffiths have been producing beers at this location since November of 2009.
Besides the Agoura Hills restaurant, craft beer lovers can try their brews at Southern California bars like Library Alehouse in Santa Monica, Tony’s Darts Away in Burbank and Far Bar in Little Tokyo to name a few. As the Ladyface team is getting ready to plan their 2nd anniversary in January, we visited brewmaster Dave and Cyrena during one of their brew days to chat about expanding the brewery, homebrewing and women in the beer industry. Read More
The undeniable craft beer culture of San Diego
Plus an interview with the president of the SD Brewers Guild and Mayor of San Diego
You know your city is big on craft beer when the mayor makes it his civil duty to attend the kick off event to San Diego Beer Week. The San Diego Brewers Guild Festival, held exclusively for San Diego breweries with live music and local food is an eye opener to how important craft beer is to San Diegans. Read More
The Tripel in Playa del Rey, CA, is a bar and restaurant opened earlier this year by chef/couple Nick Roberts and Brooke Williamson. The Tripel is their third project, Beechwood in Venice being their first followed by Hudson House in Redondo Beach. We visited Brooke during one of their newly available lunch hours to chat about how she became a chef, beer cocktails and the impeccable marriage of beer and food. Read More
